


speakeasy

by miilkteas



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: 1920s, Alternate Universe - 1920s, Alternate Universe - Prohibition Era, Angst, Bootlegging, F/M, Godddammit this made me sad, N gets screwed over again, Prohibition, Secrets, Speakeasies, Touko is a bad bitch tho so it's okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 02:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19308787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miilkteas/pseuds/miilkteas
Summary: there are those that take advantage of prohibition, and those who fall victim to it. [ 1920s!au ]





	speakeasy

**Author's Note:**

> hi y'all... it's been a while. this work is unbeta-ed like always. keep in mind that n and touko are slightly ooc for the sake of the plot and it's been years since i've played the game. so while their personalities might not be portrayed accurately, i hope you enjoy.

“Touko?” 

The sudden voice made her jump, but Touko composed herself in a matter of seconds, a small grimace tugging at the ends of her lips. It was N, looking just as concerned as she was. 

“I heard you scream.”

She nodded silently, merely pointing to the bloody corpse that was unceremoniously dumped by their oak tree in the backyard. He appeared to have been stabbed multiple times by an unknown assailant and died from blood loss, given the sickly pool of red liquid. 

It was a young man with glasses, dressed sharply in a suit N recognized from a high-end store. His face was pale as if he had been dead for at least several hours. A gruesome sight indeed. 

N too had a grimace on his face. Never had he seen a body so mutilated, and he had seen some pretty fucked up blokes in his lifetime. A small gasp escaped his lips as he brought his hand up to his mouth. 

“Who could have done this?” Touko whimpered, shaking her head incredulously. “If we report it to the police, they’ll surely pin it on us. Why was this man killed in our backyard?”

He didn’t have an answer for her, at least right away. 

Instead, he squatted down, having a good look at the body. Slowly, he circled the tree, the gears clearly turning in his head. “Darling.”

“Yes?”   


“We have to bury this man.” 

Tears filled her eyes, overwhelmed with emotion. “Y-yes. You’re absolutely correct,” she agreed, already making a beeline for their shed. Touko returned a few moments later, carrying a shovel. “Here. Let’s make this quick so the neighbors don’t notice.” 

N took the tool from his wife’s hand, already digging a shallow hole in the dirt. His eyes constantly shifted from the body to the hole to Touko and back again. By the time he was three feet deep, everything made sense to him. Everything that he had questioned about their sleepy little town was coming together.

He tugged the man by the leg to get him into the hasty grave that he had created, gesturing for Touko to get a hose so that they could conceal the body. Casually, he shoved a green lock of hair behind his ear while he observed the cautious way Touko carried herself. A small smirk began to stretch over his face. Of course, he was correct. All he needed was confirmation from her.

Touko immediately noticed the change in demeanor. Her voice was sharp, suspicious. “Is something wrong, honey?”

N’s voice came out in the smoothest of purrs. “I have a feeling that you haven’t been completely honest with me.”

“I have… I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she replied. Every word came out rushed. “Come on, let’s cover this whole and forget this all happened.”

He merely sighed, beginning to dump dirt on the man’s body while she sprayed the grass to get rid of the blood. “I knew it. You’re the owner of the Plasma. That speakeasy run by some mysterious flapper that no one’s ever seen.” 

_ Shit _ .

“How long have you known?”

N laughed humorlessly. “When your wife disappears every other night and prominent mobsters turn up dead, I think it’s pretty easy to put two and two together. And don’t get me started on how you suddenly decided that you were okay with not being a breadwinner.”

“Darling…”   


“And really? Killing a man in our own backyard?”

If it was any consolation, he didn’t sound angry. In fact, he sounded more disappointed than anything. Sure, he liked to give Prohibition the finger and down some Canadian gin every once in a while, but Touko’s secret was one on another level.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping that he would wake up from some nightmare or realize he misheard. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be further from the truth. She just confirmed everything he accused her of. There was no going back.

Touko took a deep breath, taking several steps back. “I did what I had to do. He followed me home! My secret was in danger. No one can find out who I am.”

“And killing this man was the answer?”

“You wouldn’t understand. Cheren was a liability. He would have destroyed everything I worked so hard to build, you have to believe me—” 

“And you kept all of this from me? You were going to get hurt. Did you for one second stop and think about the consequences? Or my feelings?”

“I know it looks bad,” she exclaimed, sounding on the verge of tears. “It started when my cousin brought me to Plasma and one thing led to another and… my life was on the line, baby. I had no choice! This man was going to ruin me!”

N couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Everything he had thought he knew about her was a lie. Touko, seemingly a model citizen and doting wife, was running a speakeasy behind his back and murdering anyone that threatened her. “So what, you just kill liabilities? Just like that?”

“I had to, I’m telling you! I’m not the coldhearted killer you think I am.” 

“I still can’t believe you hid all of this from me. What happened to us going through everything together? I thought we were past lying?” N’s voice was pathetic. His whole world was crumbling before his eyes, and he could do nothing to stop it. He sounded defeated, and he had a newfound interest in the floor, unable to meet her eyes.

Touko was easily just as distraught. She continuously licked her lips and smoothed out her dress. “I promise, I won’t hide anything from you anymore. In fact, I’ll take you to Plasma tonight. It’s just beneath the theatre.”

The sparkle in his eyes faded, replaced by a hungry gleam of want and desire. “I want more than just a visit. I want in on this business. We’re a team, right?”

She nodded a little too eagerly. Oh, the possibilities! With his popular standing amongst the community, Plasma would dominate the bootlegging industry for twenty miles around. “You’d really want a part of this life? With me?”

His reply came hastily. A rush of adrenaline overcame his body at the very thought of running a secret speakeasy underneath the government’s nose. It was everything he wanted and so much more. “Of course. I love you, baby.” 

N finished the grave, giving the dirt a few light taps with their shovel before washing his hands with the hose. The blood didn’t fully wash off, to his chagrin. His hands were still stained with light pink. “Let’s celebrate our new partnership with some booze. No more lies between us.”

Touko wrung her hands together, eager to get inside the house before someone overheard. “Yes! I’ll get the whiskey out of the cellar.” 

The couple hurried inside, all smiles now. The worst was behind them, and they could now look to the future. N had always wondered how she had such a nice closet with his subpar government job, but this explained it and so much more. 

They eagerly curled on the sofa, turning on the television to watch whatever cheesy soap opera was on, a bottle of whiskey on the table. He poured two cups to start, handing a glass to Touko. Sure enough, she downed it even faster than he did. N always suspected that she could handle more alcohol than she let on.

He smiled with the satisfaction of knowing. Everything that he had questioned in the past was making sense, and it felt  _ good _ . 

It didn’t take much for N to get drowsy—poor bastard was a lightweight anyway. Only a half hour later, Touko quickly suggested they call it a night. They didn’t have to visit the Plasma right away, she had insisted. N agreed, wanting to sleep anyway. 

He took her by the hand, planning on having the worst hangover in the world the following morning. “You should go to bed too. It’s been a long day.” 

Touko smiled serenely. She hitched up the side of her dress to his confusion—she wasn’t planning on sleeping with him when he was about to knock out, was she? N barely opened his mouth in response before he saw the flash of silver in her hand and a knife hurtling at his body.

Of course. He was a liability, after all.

He let out a small gasp the first time the blade pierced his flesh. She had done a sloppy job apparently because she grunted with distaste before plunging it into a more lethal part of his torso. This time, she got a few more internal organs. Everything hurt so. Damn. Much.

N coughed, watching his blood spill out of his mouth as if in slow motion. His body fell to the ground with a heavy thump, the knife still in his chest. As his vision went blurry, he could see Touko lean over, her curls covering most of her face. Her hands were shaking as the full weight of her actions overcame her.

“I’m sorry, my love.”

“N-no...”

Weakly, he tried to grasp her hand in his, but she pulled away. His hand fell, limp. He couldn’t muster the energy to try again even if he wanted to. It was as if a fire had erupted in his chest, threatening to explode at any given second.

“I had to destroy you before you destroyed me. Nice people like you are only victims to the Prohibition.” With that, she gripped the knife firmly, tugging it out of his body. Touko wiped the blade gingerly on a cloth before stowing it back inside her garter. 

N’s last thoughts were filled with regret that once again, someone he loved had manipulated him to his downfall. And to think that he fell for it again… 

**Author's Note:**

> i'd appreciate feedback! i love seeing your comments :)


End file.
